This year’s BA Chessie is something special. We used 12 year old Elijah Craig barrels which gave the beer subtle Bourbon character but tons of oak notes. Vanilla and brown sugar ooze out of the nose as well as some stone fruit, mainly sweet cherries and plums. When you first taste the beer you sense just a hint of bourbon followed by sweet malt and there is that vanilla brown sugar combo again to bring a ton of complexity to the flavor. There is some warming from the alcohol combined with the flavor of muted, but present, piney hops that give way to a surprisingly dry finish. This is one to savor in front of the fire or to share with friends at a special event. I hope you enjoy drinking it as much as we do here at Union. Cheers! – Kev